9 Songs With Lyrics That Totally Went Over Your Head As a Kid

Oh, the innocence of youth. A time when you whole-heartedly believed you too could end up as a Disney princess, and you had no idea why your parents turned off the radio when your favorite new song came on. What follows are just a few of the songs you sang along with as a kid in the ’90s and early 2000s that only made sense once a nostalgic DJ played them at your prom (and remember there are 10-year-olds, right this very second, singing “Last Friday Night” who won’t know what a menage a trois is until 2018).

1. “It Wasn’t Me” by Rik Rok and Shaggy

For most of my childhood, I thought this song was about some kind of camp prank where two poor souls had gone into the bathroom to change while their friends stole their clothes and locked them in (hence the banging to get the counselor’s attention).

2. “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot

Some people might think you become an adult when you turn 18 or rent your first apartment, but the moment your childhood really ended is the day you realized Sir Mix-a-Lot’s anaconda isn’t actually a pet snake who also appreciates big butts.

3. “Lady Marmalade” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink

A puzzling song that seemed harmless as a kid, unless you were fluent in French, of course.

4. “You Oughta Know” by Alanis Morissette

I was not sure what exactly she was doing in the theater, but she was probably missing some of the finer parts of the movie.

5. “Genie in a Bottle” by Christina Aguilera

In elementary school, this seemed like a pretty straightforward song about Aladdin’s best pal, but strangely, the cartoon character never made an appearance in the music video.

6. “In Da Club” by 50 Cent

Baffling kids everywhere who didn’t know why the teacher wouldn’t let them replace boring old “Happy Birthday” with this one while they ate their cupcakes.

7. “What’s My Age Again” by Blink-182

Your vocab needed to be built up just a little bit to understand just how immature Blink-182 was when penning this hit.

8. “Hit ‘Em Up Style” by Blu Cantrell

Pro tip: she’s not mad at her “Buckwild” man for being super into deer-hunting.

9. “Blue (Ba Da Dee)” by Eiffel 65

Actually, I still don’t get this one. Is it a metaphor? Are we all just blue, living in blue houses deep down?